Fall Fun

Kyler spent some time with Grandma Barb recently...and Grandma has a bag of hair clips Kyler LOVES to play with.  Don't let this fool you.  As soon as they are all in, she's taking them right back out!

Kind of forgot we had this cute set of overalls...found them just before they were too small! 

How do you get ANYTHING done when you have two 2 year olds in the house??  PLAY-DOH!!! 

Before harvest was over, Kyler and I got to take a ride with Daddy in the grain cart.  She got to drive, and had to have a coozie on her drink just like the guys... 

As we were doing more work on the house this fall, we had to have Dig Safe come mark the utility lines in our yard...well, the kids got to the flags before Derek got to the work...but they were being super safe in their sandbox and made sure to have everything marked before they started digging!! 

Edit:  Guess I should look at previous posts before I put my pictures on.  Just realized I already had this one of the kids digging in the sandbox...  Oh well!  Still cute!

Wedding Fun

This is LONG overdue...but well worth the wait!  Colton was in Derek's cousin Whitney's wedding at the end of September.  BOY was he HANDSOME!!!  And did an AWESOME job as the ring bearer.  I played the piano for the wedding, and was honestly more worried and nervous about how he was going to do than I was about the music.  Luckily, the wedding turned out beautifully!

One of our favorite babysitters, Kallie, was a bridemaid in the wedding.  We HAD to take pictures with her...she's such a cutie!  And my kids LOVE her!

 This one turned out a little fuzzy, but I still like it...

 They are two peas in a pod...LOL

 Colton waited very patiently while they were taking pictures and waiting for everything to start...and took his box of Cheez Its everywhere...

Just a couple more...

I know, I know.  I should really spread these posts out a bit.  When I have the time and am in the mood to do it, I usually have quite a few pictures to post. 

Colton started 4yr old Preschool September 4th.  Yes, he is technically 5, but with his birthday being so late in the year, we opted to send him to preschool for one more year, letting him grow up a bit more before heading off to Kindergarten...  :)

 Outside his classroom on the first day!  He thought he was big stuff...and of course we had to have 'poky hair' for the first day!

Jace came to play with Kyler a while back.  What do you do with 2 yr olds that are fighting over EVERYTHING???  You get out the Play Doh of course!! 

Only the children of a heavy equipment operator...we've been doing some work around the house inside and outside and had the utilities marked in the yard before we started digging, like any responsible homeowner would do...  Well...Derek didn't get to it fast enough, and the kids confiscated all of the flags and proceeded to mark their sandbox with them.  At least they know not to dig close to them!!!  And how many other kids know that the orange flags mark the electrical lines and the yellow ones mark gas???  Yep.  Mine do. 

Mysteriously found this picture on my phone.  I didn't take it.  Judging from the fact that it looks like it was taken next to Kyler in the car, there's only one person I know that sits in that seat....Colton... 

Cute Kiddos

So my friend/boss has started a photography business.  She does an AMAZING job and took the kids' pictures a few weeks ago.  I love every single one!  She captured their personalities, and even made them look somewhat angelic, if that is possible...and if you know my kids at all, you know this can be a stretch...  If you want family pictures done, you should really check out her Facebook page Sarah Falk Photography.

Miss Kyler

Not much 'photo-worthy' happening around our house lately...but I do have these pictures of Kyler off my phone...

Found these when we were going through clothes the other day.  I had forgotten I had them.  Good thing we found them!  They are almost too short!  She's ready to go hunting with the guys...although I seriously doubt she would sit still long enough...

Had to make her hair all pretty at Grandma Barb's... 

Driving the tractor with Daddy 

When we are farming, EVERYBODY needs a coozie! 

Just one more...

The cake I made Colton for his birthday...couldn't figure out how to turn it from my phone.  If you look very close, that is actually Colton riding that bull!  Boy was he surprised!!!

 

 

 

Labor Day(s)

So Labor Day is supposed to be a time to take a break from your job and relax, right?  Not in this house!!!  We took a break from our normal jobs and worked on our house all weekend!  It was a LOT of work, but well worth every minute!  We have had a lot of projects piling up, and finally took the time to get some of them done!

In completely random order...

 

I spray painted all of our furnace vents black...compared to what they used to look like, they are AWESOME!  However, I'm pretty sure HGTV will be blocked at our house from now on...LOL

 

For Colton's birthday, he and Derek built a sandbox.  A BIG sandbox...LOL  When they told me it would be 12x12, I didn't think much of it.  I just thought, oh, that will be a good size...then when I saw the finished product...now THAT'S a sandbox!!!  After a BIG trailerload (approx. 20T) of sand, the kids are set.   

 

We also installed a hardwood floor inside our front door.  I got the pleasure of doing the demo to get ready for this project...tore up the linoleum and old plywood...was pretty dang proud of myself!  Now I see why Derek likes demo work so much!  And as much as I wanted to use that really cool nail gun, I decided I better leave that to the pros... 

 

 And they did a GREAT job!  It looks like it should have been like that forever!

 

And finally, after 4 years, we have steps that go to our laundry room!  (No, that is not our laundry room...just where they decided to put the stairs together...)   

 

On to the next project!!!

Random Fun

A few pictures that I have taken with my phone recently...

 

Kids found paintbrushes and had a blast with our AquaDoodle mat...even figured out if the painted their hands & feet they could make prints on it!

 

Kyler will do ANYTHING for our babysitter's daughter Kallie. This day, she came home all dolled up...pony tail, barrette... 

 

Even eye shadow and mascara!  She loved it, but would never do that stuff for me! 

 

Ready to go shopping with Mommy.  She even knows 'boys stay home? I go shop with Mom?' 

 

Wanted to take a picture with her babies... 

 

Colton, Jace & Kyler with the Lego Soldier @ Crown Center 

 

Jace having fun at the play area at the mall...great entertainment for kids

who have been in the car all day! 

 

Kids taking a break.. 

 

I took all the kids home after Jed's seed meeting to give baths...at one point, everyone's hair was standing up, but Jace's was the only one that stayed...  Oh the fun!  ;) 

Cheating...again.

So, I have been TERRIBLE lately about getting my camera out to take pictures of my kids.  I actually have pictures on my camera, but haven't had time to download them on my computer.  SOOO...I am taking full advantage of the fact that Angela is on summer break for a couple more days.  She updated her blog with these pictures of our latest adventures.

Our last adventure of the summer...a trip to Sea Life Aquarium in KC.  Ang was right on this one...the kids loved it, but it was overpriced and not very impressive from an adult's standpoint.  But, the important part was that the kids thought it was really cool...

One More Adventure...

AND...Colton turned 5 last week!  And what more could any 5 yr old ask for than a bucking bull birthday party...have you ever seen a bucking bull birthday cake?  Yeah, they don't really make a pan for that...LOL  So, I improvised.  I have a friend that loves to play with photoshop, so we took Colton's face and put it on a bucking bull rider's picture off the web.  Turned out pretty awesome, and made it SUPER EASY for me to make his cake!  He loved all of his presents and had a great time at his party this weekend...

Bucking Bull Party

Thanks for the help with the posts Angela...  I promise to make it up to you now that you have to work like the rest of us...  ;)

Handsome

So, Colton will be turning 5 next week...WOW!  Seems like he has grown up SO much lately!  Becoming more of a help with his little sister, around the house, helping his Dad a lot more...  This photo really makes him LOOK grown up...he will be the ring bearer in Derek's cousin's wedding next month...such a handsome little man!

Cheating...

So we had a CRAZY busy weekend...kids' first overnight stay in a hotel, T-Rex Cafe, KC Zoo, chopping sileage at Grandpa's and an evening boat ride...and I didn't have my camera for any of it.  But Angela did!  Check out her posts about our fun-filled weekend, and I promise to do better next time...  :)

Mmmotor boatin...

Cabela's, Dinosaurs and Elephants, OH MY!

One more...

Last one for today, and probably the next month at the rate I've been posting.  However, I just had to post this one...  Kyler is pretty stinkin' cute (most of the time), but she gets even cuter when she has pigtails in!  Oh.  And Grandpa Jerry was kind enough to expand on her 'cuteness' last week when she was at their house...  Kyler now says 'Purty Pease' when she asks for something.  Who can resist that??  Thanks a lot Grandpa!!  :)

Popsicles!!

My kids LOVE popsicles!  This day was no exception.  We had been to 'Ruth's' and they figured out she has single popsicles for sale...  I was not entirely in favor of getting them popsicles since they would be eating them in my car...HOWEVER, a wonderful family friend (who will remain unnamed) just happened to be behind us in line and bought the popsicles for them!  In the end, it was very much appreciated by us all!  ;)

More Randomness

I'm not real sure where we had been or what we had been doing.  Colton thinks he needs to be prepared to 'work' wherever we go...thus the 'work' gloves and sunglasses...

Derek & the kids playing with my Mother's Day present while I fixed lunch...was the Kindle Fire my gift, or the fact that they were entertained and not under my feet while I was cooking my gift???  :)

FILTHY KIDS!!!!  We worked outside all day one day when it started getting warm out. Kids were filthy, and pretty sure they got sunburnt because it was so early in the year, I forgot sunscreen...